This technology is a pharmaceutical and health food composition for preventing and inhibiting liver cancer metastasis, containing the structural isomer of the Streptomyces-derived antibiotic Olivomycin A, NSC-38270, or its pharmaceutically acceptable salts as an active ingredient. It also includes a screening method that uses this compound as a positive control to identify metastasis-inhibiting candidates based on their ability to reduce Twist1 expression.
Hepatocellular carcinoma is highly aggressive and spreads rapidly to other organs via the portal vein, leading to difficult treatment and poor prognosis; its domestic incidence rate has not improved over the past 20 years. There has been a lack of drugs directly targeting epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), the starting point of metastasis. Furthermore, the Olivomycin A family has limited utility due to high cytotoxicity, and the effects of NSC-38270 on liver cancer metastasis were previously unknown.
This technology leverages the fact that NSC-38270 selectively inhibits liver cancer cell migration and invasion by suppressing the expression of Twist1, a key EMT transcription factor, without affecting Snail1 or Zeb1, while simultaneously upregulating the cell adhesion protein E-cadherin1 (CDH1). It has minimal impact on normal cells and can be formulated as a combination therapy with existing anticancer drugs such as oxaliplatin, cisplatin, and doxorubicin. It can be applied to adjuvant therapy for preventing recurrence and metastasis after liver cancer surgery, combination chemotherapy, and platforms for discovering new metastasis-inhibiting drugs, offering a novel treatment option that blocks the metastatic pathway of hepatocellular carcinoma independently of primary tumor treatment.
This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Science and ICT for research on the regulatory mechanisms of transcription factors that control cancer metastasis.
This technology involves extracting serum or plasma from blood discarded during the slaughter of cattle, pigs, or chickens, then decolorizing and filtering it to create a medium additive for culturing muscle satellite cells. This additive is mixed into serum-free media to promote the proliferation and differentiation of muscle satellite cells.
Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS), the most critical component for cultured meat, is obtained from the fetuses of slaughtered pregnant cows, raising ethical concerns, supply instability, and high costs. While serum-free media have been used as an alternative, they often result in significantly slower cell division and growth rates, and other alternatives, such as marine-based materials, have uncertain potential for mass-market application.
The process involves mixing serum or plasma with kaolin to decolorize it at 50–70°C, pre-filtering it through 2–25μm filters, followed by filtration through a 0.05–0.3μm membrane filter and low-temperature sterilization. The final additive is used by adding 1–20 parts by weight to 100 parts of serum-free medium, along with antibiotics and antifungals, allowing for either a complete replacement of FBS or partial use. Applicable to cultured meat production, startup medium procurement, and value-added processing of slaughterhouse byproducts, this method reduces reliance on expensive fetal serum and turns waste blood into a revenue stream.
This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs for the development of optimal muscle tissue engineering and mass production systems for cultured meat.
This technology is a construction site restroom system that places portable toilets on each floor next to the hoist. Water supply and waste collection units are loaded onto the hoist to replenish water from a ground-level tank to the restroom reserve tanks on each floor and to forcibly extract waste from full collection containers for transport to a ground-level septic tank.
Conventional portable restrooms, which house the toilet, water tank, and waste storage in an FRP or MDF booth, become too bulky when equipped with separate storage tanks for urine and feces, as well as a water supply tank. While they can be installed on the ground, they are too large to be moved to upper floors, creating significant challenges in supplying water and removing waste at high-rise construction sites.
This technology features a water supply unit on the hoist equipped with a supply line connected to the ground tank and a flush water line to the restroom reserve tank. The waste unit includes a suction line connected to the waste container and a discharge line to the septic tank, using lightweight, easy-to-handle hoses. The units on the hoist are sized to service multiple floors in one trip. Applicable to high-rise residential and office projects, large-scale apartment construction, and plant sites using hoists, it allows workers to use restrooms near their work area, reducing downtime and preventing on-site hygiene issues caused by unauthorized waste disposal.
This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's digital-based construction and safety supervision technology development program.
This technology is a motor grader monitoring device, system, and control method that uses a camera mounted between the front and rear wheels, in front of the blade, to capture images of the blade and surrounding soil. The control unit analyzes these images to generate distribution data on how soil is piled up in front of the blade and displays it on the operator's screen.
A motor grader is equipment used to spread soil or level road surfaces with a blade. While understanding the behavior and distribution of soil in contact with the blade is crucial, the operator's field of view is very limited, making it difficult to monitor soil conditions in real time. Consequently, work efficiency has largely depended on the operator's experience, and existing heavy equipment monitoring systems have been limited to preventing collisions by covering blind spots.
In this technology, the control unit extracts soil information using the HSV color space model and identifies outlines through Otsu binarization. It then divides the reference area using a first reference line aligned with the top of the blade and a second vertical reference line to determine if soil is overflowing the blade and how it is distributed across different sections. If the system detects that soil is skewed to one side rather than centered, it can automatically control the blade rotation to push the soil accordingly. Applicable to roadbed leveling, large-scale residential and industrial site preparation, and runway or embankment shaping, this system allows operators of any skill level to instantly view soil overflow and skew on the screen, enabling even spreading and reducing the need for rework.
This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for the development of digital-based road construction equipment automation technology.
This technology is a stagnant airflow reduction girder system that installs girder members consisting of upper chords, lower chords, and web plates at regular intervals between supports erected on the concrete foundations on both sides of a road, and attaches airflow guides longitudinally to the back of the web plates to vent air trapped under the soundproof tunnel roof.
Using I-beams or H-beams as roof girders for urban soundproof tunnels increases weight, obstructs driver visibility due to the web, and results in high wind resistance and poor ventilation. In particular, when air becomes trapped behind the girder, stagnant airflow can cause roof vibrations, leading to loose bolts and the detachment or damage of roof panels. Existing air circulation devices have limitations, as they require external power and increase the weight of the structure.
This technology features a modular girder with a web plate structure where upper and lower chord flanges made of steel pipes are arranged horizontally, with upper and lower members inserted on the outside, and the space between them filled with grout and interlocked with internal and external protrusions. The hollow, box-type airflow guide is installed as a detachable member connecting the web plates from the first to the nth girder span at the entrance, also supporting the space between girders to prevent buckling. It can be applied to soundproof tunnels on urban expressways in residential areas, elevated road sound barriers using transparent panels, and soundproof roof structures near railways, effectively venting stagnant air behind girders without fans to suppress roof panel vibration and bolt loosening while keeping the structure lightweight.
This technology is a rainwater collection device and method that uses a support frame installed on a building wall. Multiple inclined screens are inserted into the frame at specific angles to capture wind-driven rain hitting the wall and channel it into a storage tank below.
Due to economic factors, rainwater harvesting systems have primarily been installed in large facilities like gymnasiums or public buildings with roof areas over 1,000㎡. Even then, many large roofs are converted into gardens, significantly limiting the amount of rainwater collected across cities. Existing wind-driven rain (WDR) gauges only monitor small portions of a wall, making it difficult to estimate total rainfall, and there has been a lack of effective systems for collecting rainwater from entire wall surfaces.
This technology features a support frame with multiple coupling grooves cut at preset angles, allowing the spacing between screens to be determined by the groove angle. The support and screens are made of corrosion-resistant materials such as metal, acrylic, or tempered glass. A fixing bar secures the support, and a filter at the storage tank inlet removes impurities. Applicable to high-rise offices, apartments, urban buildings with rooftop gardens, and WDR research facilities, this system allows buildings with small roofs to utilize their large wall surfaces for rainwater harvesting, providing water for landscaping and cleaning while reducing urban flood risks.
This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for the evaluation of rainfall-runoff process distortion and increased disaster vulnerability caused by high-rise buildings.
This technology is a laminated steel damper for seismic retrofitting of existing buildings. It features a curved main damper installed between first and second base brackets, with multiple layered auxiliary dampers of varying curvatures placed inside. At low displacements, it works with the main damper to dissipate seismic energy through elastic deformation; at high displacements, it undergoes plastic deformation, straightening out to act as a linear tension member that restricts further displacement.
With less than 10% of domestic buildings meeting seismic standards, retrofitting is urgent. However, steel brace methods offer poor displacement control and aesthetics, while slit steel dampers show minimal energy absorption in earthquakes weaker than their design strength. Oil dampers are expensive and difficult to maintain due to temperature-dependent viscosity changes, and U-shaped steel dampers, while flexible, lack the strength and stiffness to control collapse loads during major earthquakes.
This technology features outer auxiliary dampers with longer extensions and higher maximum tensile loads than the inner ones, ensuring that as displacement increases, the dampers transition into tension members sequentially from the innermost one. The material and thickness of each damper can be customized, using steel or aluminum. Rigid rods hinged at both ends support vertical loads, and multiple damper assemblies can be arranged radially. Suitable for aging schools, public buildings, soft-story structures like pilotis, and low-to-mid-rise renovations, it manages energy dissipation and shear force support in stages, effectively delaying structural collapse.
This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Education's LINC 3.0 project.
This technology is an EMP shielding rebar grid selection method and system that builds a database of the Metal Grid Free Area Ratio (MGFAR) and the electromagnetic shielding effectiveness (SE) of concrete reinforced with various rebar grids of different diameters and spacings, then identifies the MGFAR value corresponding to a target SE to select the appropriate rebar grid for the concrete.
In South Korea, where the state of armistice persists, the risk of EMP attacks is constant, and lightning strikes can also damage electronic equipment. Conventional methods have included applying conductive paint to concrete surfaces or mixing in steel fibers to enhance shielding. However, it is difficult to verify the uniform distribution of steel fibers before and after construction, and mixing ratios exceeding 1.5% can lead to clumping and internal voids, reducing structural strength. Additionally, increasing concrete thickness has inherent design limitations.
This technology derives a sub-modeling curve representing SE versus MGFAR, then obtains a main modeling curve by applying regression equations corrected for errors based on frequencies (400, 600, 800, 1000 MHz) and the number of overlapping rebar grids (one or two). From this curve, the rebar spacing, diameter, and number of layers are quantitatively determined to meet the target SE. The selection process includes configurations where two grids are overlapped with offset intersections or arranged with varying spacing. Applicable to the design of critical infrastructure such as data centers, communication facilities, military and government bunkers, and power control rooms, this method achieves required EMP shielding rates through rebar specifications alone, without the need for conductive material treatments or increased wall thickness.
This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for the development of EMP-shielding concrete materials, components, structures, and systems.
This technology is a shock-absorbing median barrier that features buffer plates installed at a distance from the barrier body, connected by cylindrical buffers inserted into the barrier's coupling grooves. This design absorbs impact forces from vehicle collisions by distributing them both vertically and horizontally.
Conventional concrete block or steel guardrail median barriers are highly rigid, causing colliding vehicles to bounce back and trigger secondary accidents, often resulting in severe vehicle damage and passenger injuries. Even improved barriers designed to disperse impact often produce concrete debris and require full replacement when damaged, making maintenance difficult.
This technology utilizes a first shock-absorption unit, featuring an elastic member on a central shaft within the buffer to handle vertical forces, and a second shock-absorption unit, consisting of a vacuum-sealed space between inner and outer cases, to handle horizontal impacts. The assembly is sealed at the top and bottom. Guide members on the case slide along the inner case's guide grooves, while first packing members in the coupling grooves and second packing members on the sloped buffer plates provide additional shock absorption. Suitable for highways, expressways, high-collision areas like curves and bridge approaches, and tunnel entrances, this system prevents vehicles from bouncing back, reducing secondary accidents. Furthermore, maintenance time is minimized as only the damaged buffers and plates need to be replaced.
This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's research on well-pad and facility structural stability evaluation technology.
This technology creates solid phase change material particles by adsorbing polyethylene glycol (PEG) onto porous silicon dioxide surfaces and coating them with molten asphalt. When added to asphalt pavement mixtures, these particles store heat during the day and release it as temperatures drop, providing high-heat-storage asphalt pavement.
Over 90% of roads in Korea are paved with asphalt. Since 2015, black ice has caused an average of over 1,200 traffic accidents annually, while the need to address urban heat and carbon emissions has grown. Previous solutions involved filling porous particles with paraffin-based phase change materials to be buried under roads in pipes or using cellulose fiber-impregnated pastes. However, these lacked a phase change material capable of being mixed directly into asphalt and withstanding high-temperature construction.
This technology involves mixing 85 wt% silicon dioxide with 15 wt% PEG (number-average molecular weight 1,800–2,200) in a sol state, heating to 50–60°C for gelation, and then drying and pulverizing the particles. These are coated with molten asphalt at 5 wt% of the asphalt mass, maintaining a solid state even after 2 hours in a 200°C oven. The pavement is created by adding 10 parts by weight of this material to 100 parts of a mixture containing 50–60 wt% coarse aggregate, 30–40 wt% sand (4.74mm or less), and 4–5 wt% asphalt. Applicable to bridge decks, tunnel entrances, and shaded mountain roads, it integrates heat storage into existing asphalt plant processes to delay road icing and mitigate urban heat island effects.
This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for research on simulation analysis and life-cycle economic analysis of rebar-alternative concrete structures.
This technology is a pedestrian alert sidewalk platform that installs elongated housings with ultrasonic sensors on both the road-facing and sidewalk-facing sides of curb stones. It measures the distance to approaching vehicles and pedestrians on the sidewalk using Time-of-Flight (ToF) technology, triggering a danger signal when both distances fall within set thresholds.
While the Min-sik Law mandates the installation of traffic lights and speed cameras in school zones, existing traffic safety systems are mostly limited to detecting movement within narrow crosswalk areas based on traffic signals. Consequently, there has been a lack of devices that actively alert pedestrians and drivers to dangers along the roadside in these protected zones.
The road-side controller flashes LEDs in stages: yellow for 10–8m, orange for 8–5m, and red for under 5m. Simultaneously, the system outputs a voice message warning pedestrians to step back from the curb. A primary ultrasonic sensor on top of the curb provides immediate warnings if a pedestrian walks on it. Applicable to school zones, bus stops, and senior protection zones, this system uses light and sound to prevent accidents by alerting both parties the moment a vehicle approaches.
This technology is a bridge pier collision mitigation device that absorbs ship impact energy. It features multiple detachable grooves on the surface of a body surrounding the underwater section of a pier, into which cushioning units—composed of honeycomb structures and packing parts of varying diameters with embedded elastic reinforcement—are inserted so that they partially protrude.
When ships accidentally collide with bridge piers in seas or rivers, both the vessel and the pier can be damaged, potentially leading to casualties. Traditionally, used tires tied with wires have been used as buffers. However, these wires corrode easily in water, failing to maintain their integrity. Furthermore, modular shock-absorption systems that wrap around the entire pier are bulky and expensive, as even minor damage requires replacing the entire unit.
This technology utilizes a multi-layered structure where a second cushioning unit with a smaller through-hole is suspended inside a first cushioning unit, which features a central through-hole and an inward-facing hexagonal cross-section. The space between and around them is filled with first and second packing members, all encased in a cover with embedded reinforcement. The cover’s protruding members are designed to break during major impacts, allowing only the damaged unit to detach. A luminescent coating on the cover’s exterior marks the pier's location at night. Applicable to bridge piers in shipping lanes, river bridge foundations, and harbor structures, this system allows for the replacement of only the damaged unit, significantly reducing maintenance costs and time while mitigating impact on vessels.
This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy for the development of technology to manufacture and utilize Portland cement substituting more than 5wt.% of limestone using non-carbonate raw materials.
This technology is a CFRP reinforcement connector and connection method that involves inserting the protruding members of second and third CFRP reinforcements into the coupling grooves of a first CFRP reinforcement to cross them, wrapping the assembly with a thermosetting reinforcement and cover, and then heating to fuse the reinforcements together while curing the outer shell.
Reinforced concrete structures often suffer from reduced safety and durability due to cracks and spalling caused by the corrosion of embedded steel bars from chloride ion and carbon dioxide penetration. Even when using carbon fiber (CFRP) pipes instead of steel, their lower ductility compared to steel leads to fractures when bending pipes to connect them at right angles. Existing connection technologies have also been limited by low connector durability and complex installation processes.
This technology involves placing reinforcements on a reinforcement plate and inserting the vertical coupling parts, which rise higher than the reinforcements, into the vertical coupling grooves of a cover plate to assemble them in a gel state. The reinforcements are fitted into the grooves between the four protruding cover bodies. The installation process follows these steps: base plate installation, reinforcement placement, reinforcement positioning, cover coupling, heating, and epoxy lining. Applicable to concrete bridges in coastal or salt-damaged areas, underground structures, tunnel linings, and parking garage slabs requiring non-corrosive reinforcement, this method allows CFRP reinforcements—which would otherwise break if bent—to be connected at right angles without fracture, while also ensuring waterproofing at the joints via epoxy lining.
This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for research on simulation analysis and life-cycle economic analysis of rebar-alternative concrete structures.
This technology is a modular stair panel system consisting of horizontal and vertical panels that cover the treads and risers of concrete stairs, respectively. The panels are joined at a right angle and feature removable cork cushioning inserts.
Conventional modular stairs involve cumbersome installation processes, such as complex tread assembly and the need for separate anti-slip measures to meet building codes. Wood treads are prone to rot from rain and snow, while concrete is heavy, making installation in high-altitude areas difficult and maintenance challenging.
This technology features a horizontal body with an internal insertion space containing an inclined plane and multiple fixing members to secure the cork cushioning. The vertical body accommodates a second cushioning member in the same manner, and the surfaces can be coated. The vertical panel's protrusion fits into the horizontal panel's groove for detachable assembly, with a curved connector reinforcing the edge. Suitable for concrete stairs in apartments and schools, outdoor stairs in parks and trails, and remodeling old stairs, the elastic cork reduces slipping, noise, and impact on knees, and allows for easy replacement of worn-out inserts.
This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy for the development of technology to manufacture and utilize Portland cement substituting more than 5wt.% of limestone using non-carbonate raw materials.
This technology is a reinforcement structure for slab sections vulnerable to shear loads in pilotis buildings. It features reinforcing bars placed alongside horizontal and vertical main bars in slabs where upper and lower walls are misaligned, with unit-type shear reinforcement hooked onto these reinforcing bars and installed vertically through the slab.
In low-rise pilotis multi-family housing, floor plans often change between levels, causing upper and lower walls to be misaligned out-of-plane. This concentrates shear force and bending moments on the slabs, a vulnerability highlighted by the damage observed during the Pohang earthquake. Existing slab shear reinforcement is mostly designed for slabs thicker than 250mm, making it difficult to use in thinner slabs. Furthermore, because these methods constrain both upper and lower bending bars, they suffer from poor constructability due to complex rebar arrangements and increased construction time and costs caused by secondary processes like welding and cutting.
This technology creates a connecting loop by using a hooked rebar that wraps around the reinforcing bar at an angle, with its end bent to support the underside of the reinforcing bar. Vertical reinforcement and horizontal reinforcement placed next to the lower horizontal main bars are then attached in a ┻ or ┗┛ shape. Alternatively, multiple diagonal bars and horizontal reinforcement can be bundled with a connecting bar to form an isosceles triangle shape when viewed from the front, with the connecting bar secured to the horizontal main bars. Applicable to low-to-mid-rise pilotis multi-family housing, first-floor parking-type neighborhood facilities, and seismic retrofitting of existing pilotis buildings, this system allows for shear reinforcement in slabs thinner than 250mm simply by hooking it onto the upper bars, thereby reducing premature shear failure in wall-misaligned sections.
This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Education's Safety and Health Convergence Technology Research Institute.
